Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?
by Dimitrius
Summary: Arnold is once again the target of a prank by the one and only Helga Pataki. However, she has gone too far, and now Arnold wants revenge. But will revenge be sweet as many say, or will it be bittersweet? New fic, please check it out.
1. Chapter 1: Revenge

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter One: Revenge

It was beautiful spring day in the park. Birds chirped in the air. Fluffy white clouds drifted in the true blue sky and the leaves rustled on the limbs of the trees. Basically, it was a good day to play in the park.

However, the same could not be said for the five fifth grade boys, who were sitting under a large tree. Frowns settled upon their dirty faces. It was clearly visible to an outsider the mixture of paint, tapioca pudding, mud, and other lesser known substances on their clothes and faces. It seemed as if they were victims of a cruel prank. And they'd definitely be right. These five boys were targets of a prank by a certain bully who found it amusing to hurt others for no other reason than that she was in a bad mood and wanted to vent her frustration out on them.

"Man, that Helga Pataki really did it this time!" said an African-American chocolate-skinned boy with a tall afro stacked on his head; though the afro wasn't visible due to the large amount of pudding and paint.

"I just wanna beat her up" cried a red-faced boy with a wide girth and a blue cap on his head. He was currently wiping some of the pudding of his face and licking it.

"Calm down, Harold. Let's be rational here." said a boy with a football shaped head.

"Why should we be rational, Arnold?" questioned a boy with a long drooping nose. "I mean, Helga just totally threw all this gunk at us, which not to mention has A LOT of germs, for no reason at all."

"Sid's right", said a tall dangly boy. "Why shud we be sittin' here while Miss Helga gets to be hittin' us with this trash. It ain't fair Arnuld."

"I say we get Pataki back for this!" shouted Harold.

"Yeah!" cried Sid and Stinky, raising their left hands to show that they agree with Harold.

"What about you fellas?" asked Stinky.

"Well, you can definitely count me in." said Gerald. "I'm getting sick of Helga pushing us around everyday like she's the boss around here."

"What about you Arnold?" asked Sid.

"I'm not sure about this you guys. I mean, Helga would be really mad if we did something to her. Plus, it's not the right thing to do. Doing a wrong won't right a wrong."

"Come on Arnold. Don't tell me that she doesn't frustrate you everytime she pulls those annoying childish pranks. Hell, you're usually the target of those pranks every day." said Gerald, looking at his friend.

"Yeah, Arnold. We'll just teach Pataki a lesson for once and for all. Then she'll probably never bother us again." stated Sid.

"Think about it Arnold. No more spitwads or shoving you down or some stupid prank." said Gerald.

Arnold sat there thinking for a moment. He was mad, yes, because Helga had just creamed him and the others. He was also annoyed that she always got away with everything. But he didn't want to fight back. It was just a wrong thing to do. But then if he retaliated, then she'd probably never bother him again. Arnold mentally weighed the pros and cons. Finally he uttered three words.

"Count me in."

Author's Note: Hi guys! Newbie here. Anyways, I just want you to know that this is my very first fanfic ever and it is also the first time I've tried writing a story. I've never done this before and I am really kind of hesitant about it. You see, I read countless Hey Arnold fanfics and I gotta admit that there are really amazing (and serious) writers out there in the fanfic world. I really love the stories written and I wanted to try my hand at it too. So I decided to write this and just see if it is any good. I would appreciate it if you guys wrote a review and especially a constructed criticism. Please help me out here, because I enjoy reading so many stories and I want to be able to also write good stories too. I will accept anything, even flames, just please give me your brutal honest opinion about this fic. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2: The Day After

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter Two: The Day After

"Hey Arnold, Hey Arnold, Hey Arn --"

Arnold slammed the alarm clock shut. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, he rose out of bed and headed to do his morning ritual of showering, brushing his teeth, and combing his unruly cornflowered hair. Finished, he ran downstairs to greet his grandparents and the smell of burnt bacon and eggs.

"Morning grandma. Morning grandpa," he said.

"Morning Kimba" said his grandmother who currently trying to swat a fly with the same utensil she used to cook the bacon and eggs.

"Morning shortman." said his grandfather who was reading the newspaper.

Arnold pulled out a chair and began to chew the barely edible breakfast which he kept drowning with orange juice.

"Why lookie here, shortman." Phil said after a moment of silent reading. "It says in the paper that Einstein's come back to life. Look."

"Uh, grandpa," said Arnold after a moment of reading the article, "Einstein's not coming back to life. That's Bernstein, the new sheep, being cloned. Just like Dolly, remember?"

"Dolly? You mean the girl who I had a crush on when I was younger?" exclaimed Phil. "Why, I didn't know that old broad died and was being cloned. I had better call her kid and see what's been going on."

With that, Phil left the table to call his ex-crush's kid. Arnold just rolled his eyes.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Once breakfast was done, Arnold headed towards the bus stop. There he met Gerald, who was looking cleaner than yesterday.

"Hey, what's up Arnold?"

"Nothing but the clouds, the sky, and the birds" replied Arnold. Gerald chuckled at the reply. The two then did their little 'secret' handshake.

"So, you ready for today?" said Gerald.

"What's today?"

"You don't remember Arnold?"

"Uh, no."

"Does yesterday in the park ring any bells?"

"Oh, yeah." The five of them had decided to plan their revenge today during recess. "So, what are you thinking of planning to suggest?"

"I really don't know yet. I haven't thought of anything. Too busy scrubbing the paint off."

"Same here."

The bus then approached them and came to a stop. The two boarded onto the bus and claimed two seats near the back of the bus. They sat in silence, because they knew that a storm was approaching very shortly. Sure enough, Hurricane Helga Pataki entered the bus, followed by her sidekick and best friend, Phoebe Heyerdahl. The mild chatterring in the bus stopped at the sight of Helga.

"Outta my way, geek-baits! Move it! I ain't getting any younger here. Shove aside!"

A tall, dangly girl, Helga Pataki was an imposing figure with her menacing blue eyes and her fierce scowl. Her two hands, already balled into fists, hung to her sides stiffly as she marched down the aisle in search of an empty seat. She flopped unceremoniously while her friend sat meekly next to her. Her angry gaze scanned the bus until it fell on Arnold, whom she smirked broadly at. Arnold knew why; she was, through her smirk, reminding him of what she did to him and the others yesterday.

This frustrated Arnold. She had the nerve to smile at his expense! Right now, Arnold was glad that he had agreed to revenge. Oh, how he wanted to hurt Helga just as she had hurt him.

_You may be laughing at me now Helga, but I'll make sure I get the last laugh in this._

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Arnold and Gerald entered their classroam, just before the bell, where the class was already present and seated in their assigned seats. The two walked to their own seats. Arnold, however, was tripped on his way by none other than Helga who was snickering in her arms. He didn't say anything whereas Gerald shot her a dirty look.

"Good morning, class" Mr. Simmons chippered cheerfully.

A few replied "good morning" while others just nodded in acknowledgement. Some gave Mr. Simmons a smile while Helga just groaned.

"Alrighty then. Let's start the day with the attendance."

Mr. Simmons announced each student's name. When he was done making sure that everyone was present, he began the day with grammar.

"Everyone please take out your special grammar books." The class groaned but heeded anyway. "Now turn to page twenty-two and begin to the read the introduction to adverbs. Also, please pass last night's special homework forward. Thank you."

Arnold opened his books and was about to read when he was hit with something wet and sticky. It was a spitwad. And the culprit, of course, was Helga.

_Please let lunch come quickly, please let lunch come quickly_, chanted Arnold to himself with his eyes closed.

It was going to be a long day for sure, and it was already definitely not looking good.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Lunch finally rolled around at around eleven o'clock. Arnold sat down at his usual lunch table with Gerald. Sid, Harold, and Stinky also joined the two.

"Boy howdy!" exclaimed Sid while rubbing his temples. "I've had enough of grammar for one day."

Gerald nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Who knew adverbs were so hard. My head just hurts from thinking about it."

Harold let out a belly laugh and said, "I just slept through the whole lesson. I even had a dream. It was about Mr. Fudgy Bar."

Arnold and Gerald just shook their heads.

"So, you guys, what's the plan to get back at Miss Helga?" asked Stinky.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that." said Harold. "Any of you guys got any ideas?"

"Well," stated Sid after looking around to make sure no one else was listening in, "I was thinking that humiliation would do the trick."

"Yeah, but how do we go about doing that?" asked Gerald.

Sid looked around once more, especially at Helga and Phoebe. Then he motioned the guys to get closer.

"Well, here's the thing . . ." , he began whispering.

"Whoa, man. That stuff is big." said Gerald after Sid outlined the plan to the group.

"Are you sure it will work?" asked Stinky.

"Only if we all are in it and no one squeals!" excalimed Harold with a threatening look at everyone.

"So, does everyone agree to the plan and promise not to tell anyone?" inquired Sid holding out the palm of his left hand.

"Yeah." cried the four boys, each putting their hand on Sid's in agreement.

"Then let Operation Get Pataki begin."

Author's Note: Well, that's it. For now. So, how was it? Good? Bad? Dumb? Not worth your time? Need working on? Well, you can just review to let me know. Also, if you can, could you please suggest some ideas for the plan. I have a few up my sleeve, but all the same, I would greatly appreciate it if you contributed. Neways, gotta jet!


	3. Chapter 3: The Thoughts Of Helga Pataki

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter Three: The Thoughts Of Helga Pataki

Helga sighed as she rested her head on the propped pillows of her bed. The moon shone brightly through her window, brightening her dark room. Her stomach grumbled for the third time in the past thirty minutes. She was extremely hungry, but tonight was one of those nights when Miriam was just too wasted from her 'smoothies' to cook dinner. Bob had ordered some takeout chinese food, but had forgotten to order extra for her too. Helga then had to resort to stealing a few fried chicken wings from his plate while he was staring into the tv.

Helga pulled the pillows down and laid on her back with her eyes closed. It was a tiring day at PS 118 and at the moment, falling asleep sounded tempting. However, Helga had more pressing matters at hand.

Today had been a normal day at school, or as normal as school can get when Helga's a part of it. She did what she usually did: create a ruckus which usually involved shoving kids aside, lashing out remarks smouldered with sarcasm, throwing spitwads at Arnold, and basically being a bully.

_Then why did today feel any different than the other days?_, thought Helga.

She ran the day through her mind, trying to remember what happened that was making her feel kind of uneasy. The morning was normal and so were the first three periods of the day. Then there was lunch, and . . . wait, that was it! It was during lunch. In the cafeteria, she noticed that Arnold, Gerald, Sid, Stinky, and Harold were all sitting together and conversing quietly. She even thought that she saw Sid mouth her name. It looked like they were planning something. For a brief moment, Helga's mind wandered back to yesterday when she had pulled a prank on the guys and wondered if it had anything to do with that. The whole thing seemed suspicious.

Helga shook her head. She was probably imagining things. Sid was probably telling some story about something that happened. The guys were, after all, laughing over what he was saying. Yeah, that was probably what it was.

Helga got up and pulled the curtains of her window, sending her room into complete darkness save for the small hallway light that infiltered her room through the crack of her door. She then laid down once again, letting sleep take over her. While succumbing to drowsiness, she thought, _Maybe I was just imagining things. There was nothing going on._

Yet, there was that nagging uneasy feeling within her that told her that something was not right.

But being Helga, she ignored it.

Which proved to be a disasterous thing to do.


	4. Chapter 4: Operation Get Pataki

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chaptr Four: Phase One of Operation Get Pataki

Helga awoke the next morning with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had the strange feeling that something terrible was going to happen today. For a moment she wondered whether she should call in sick and stay home. But the driving force of not seeing Arnold for one day caused her get out of bed and begin the day with the usual morning rituals.

After Helga had taken a shower, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair into two neat pigtails, she dedicated fifteen minutes to her Arnold shrine and her little pink books, which contained her deepest and not-at-all-darkest secret: her love for the boy whom she has bullied since the age of three. Satisfied with her latest poem in her book and her latest declaration of her love to her Arnold shrine, she thumped down the stairs and entered the kitchen.

There, in the dirty kitchen, was Miriam snoozing on the table. Surrounding her was a dirty blender and a few empty cups, containing a slight trace of Miriam's 'smoothies'. With a disgusted sigh, Helga rummaged through the kitchen in search for something edible to pack for lunch. Seeking nothing, Helga trudged out of the kitchen and headed towards the front door of the house. There, Bob's snoring was heard quite clearly from the living room couch. Rolling her eyes, Helga walked out and slammed the door behind her.

Besides, it was the usual morning in the Pataki household.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Helga was walking slowly towards her bus stop, taking all the time in the world. She was out early and the bus wasn't due for another ten minutes. Plus, her stop was only five minutes away. Therefore, Helga began to daydream which led her to not notice five different sized and shaped shadows lurking nearby.

"Code blue." whispered Sid through a walkie talkie from his position behind a trashcan in the alley that Helga passed by. "Pataki deep in thought. Commence the tanglement of the stringy things."

Arnold, who was crouching behind a large trashcan on the pavement, replied, "Code received. Oh, and stringy things? Where did you get that from?"

"Arnold, man." crackled Gerald's voice through the walkie talkie. "Just do the job and question Sid's maturity later."

"Alright."

Arnold, just as Helga reached towards him, extended his arm and quickly grabbed her shoelaces, yanking them and in the process, loosening them too. Helga, feeling the sudden yank, was startled out of her daydream and tripped, landing on her bottom.

"What on earth!" said a startled Helga. Looking ahead, she saw her shoe laces untied. "That's odd. I guess I must have tied them loose this morning."

Bending her knees, she began to tie her shoes. Meanwhile, on top of the roof of the building Helga was in front of, sat Stinky, Harold, and Gerald. Looking down at Helga, they gave each other the thumbs up and dragged a bucket filled with a bad-smelling substance to the edge of the roof. As Helga was almost done with her second pair of shoelaces, the trio dumped the contents of the bucket onto her.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" screamed Helga from the pavement. Stifling their laughter, the five boys quickly scrambled away from their positions and out of sight.

Helga quickly stood and wiped some of the mess out of her eyes. Her blue eyes emitted fire (figuratively, of course) as they darted around madly searching for her assailant. Whoever it was, she was definitely gonna make him/her pay. She didn't get her chance, however, as the nauseating fumes from the substance covering her, reached her nostrils.

Slowly, Helga brought her hands in front of her face as she examined the vile substance. Her eyes widened in shock.

She couldn't believe it. This had to be a dream.

She was covered in . . . in . . . in . . . animal waste! . . . Mixed with . . . orange juice!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Author's Note: Wow! I'm evil! Now you know to never get on my bad side ;) Neways, this was just the beginning. I have so much in store of what's going to happen. Especially in the next chapter. Suggestions of more pranks would be appreciated, cuz I only have one other grand idea which is reserved for the next chapter and I wanted to make this a three-phase revenge; the last one being the ultimate one that really hurts Helga and makes Arnold extremely guilty. So, you know what to do: click that button down there and review.


	5. Chapter 5: Phase Two

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter Five: Phase Two Of Operation Get Pataki

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

**BANG!**

The front doors of PS 118 slammed open and on the threshold stood the towering figure of Helga Pataki. With murder in her eyes, her face was set in a look that could, and probably would, freeze Hell. Two clenched fists hung stiffly by her sides, awaiting the opportunity to pummel anyone who dared to stand in her way. Luckily, the hallways were bereft of any students considering the fact that it was the beginning of third period class.

Helga roughly slammed the doors close and ascended to her classroam where she was greeted with the sight of the startled faces of her classmates and the concerned faces of her teacher and best friend. And to no surprise. Helga looked as if she was going to kill someone in a slow yet brutal manner and that was only saying it lightly.

Helga walked in slowly and was about to go to her seat when she noticed something. Everyone was seated differently. It seemed that everyone had switched places with one another. Her seat was currently occupied by Arnold. Which meant that the only other available seat was Arnold's. She marched back to the front and sat down at her beloved's desk.

"Helga?" asked Mr. Simmons hesitantly.

"What?" was the harsh reply.

"Um, is everything alright? You're awfully late today." said Simmons gently.

"Criminey! I'm alright. Now just go back to what you were doing."

Mr. Simmons just blinked once, turned around to the blackboard, and commenced to write notes for the class to copy. Helga pulled her bookbag to her side and began rummaging through it. While she was searching for a pen, she heard giggling to her left. Looking to find the source, she saw Rhonda giggling with Nadine and vaguely pointing at her way. Helga narrowed her eyes.

_Could it be . . .?_ thought Helga. _Oh she's going to get it!_

Just then, Eugene accidentally flipped his pencil in a such a way that the point of the pencil landed on his right eye, causing him to shriek in pain and then say, "I'm okay."

Mr. Simmons immediately rushed to his side and after a close examination, decided that he had to escort Eugene to the nurse's office.

Facing the class he announced, "Class, I'm going to go to the nurse's office. In the meantime, I would like for all of you to continue reading about the ancient Romans on pages fifty to sixty. Phoebe, will you please stand here and watch over your classmates?" Phoebe nodded. "Thank you."

With that, he left the room with Eugene in tow. As soon as the door closed behind him, Rhonda faced Helga and sent her a smirk.

"Well, well, well, Pataki. Why were you so late this morning?" asked Rhonda in her snooty voice.

"Can it, princess. What I do and don't do is none of your business unless somehow you were involved in it." sneered Helga.

"What do you mean?" inquired Rhonda innocently.

"You know perfectly well what I mean. And let me tell you, I will punch you all the way to Christmas and pull every single hair out of that flaky scalp of yours if you don't cough it up."

"My hair is not flaky!" cried Rhonda indignitely. "Besides it's not my fault you go for the creepy kind and had to stay home for a while to worship a freak."

"_What!_"

Rhonda didn't say anything. She just smirked and looked beyond Helga. Helga turned around and came face to face with Curly Gammelthorpe.

"Hello, darling dearest." he said in his creepy voice.

"_Excuse me!_" said Helga with a revolted look on her face. He did not just say that.

Curly neared closer to Helga who was starting to slowly back away.

"Why, Helga?" he asked in a low monotonic voice. "Why have you kept this secret to yourself?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" shouted Helga.

"Oh, come on, Helga darling," Helga shuddered. "The cat's out of the bag already. I know, as well as everyone else, that you _like like_ me."

"What!" shrieked Helga. This was getting scarier by the minute.

"I know that you have liked liked me ever since we've met. And that you fear rejection so you hid your affection towards me behind the insults you've thrown my way. But don't worry darling" --here he held Helga's hand while Helga paled-- "I feel the same way about you too. I like like you too."

By this time, the class was doubled over in laughter. Harold was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down his face. The same could be said for Sid, Stinky, Gerald, and Arnold. However, Helga was the only one who wasn't amused. Her body shook and she looked as if she was told she was going to be married to Bigfoot. Which, in comparison to this, seemed like an appealing option.

Or maybe not.

"Now come here sweetums. Give daddy a kiss." he said while puckering his lips. "You've waited so long for this. It is only fair I give it to you."

Eyes as wide as saucers, Helga screeched and pulled her hand away from Curly.

"Get the hell away from me you twisted little freak!" yelled Helga.

"Come on, Helga. Don't play hard to get. I just told you that I loved you." said Curly. "Besides, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We'll even have kids. How many do you want? I know I would like ten."

Helga stared in disbelief. This had to be a nightmare. There was no other explanation. She closed her eyes and hoped against hope that she was going to wake up any second now. No such luck. She could still hear her classmates' laughter and jeering. Helga wished she was anywhere but here. Suddenly, a voice spoke that opened her eyes and cause her to thank the heavens that her salvation arrived.

"What's going on in here?"

The class stopped laughing when they heard Mr. Simmons voice. He was standing in the doorway, looking confused as he saw a terrified-looking Helga standing along with Curly.

"Helga? Curly? What are you doing standing up? And why do you look so pale Helga? Are you alright?" he inquired.

Helga momentarily looked as if she was in a daze. Phoebe, who was very concerned for her friend and not wanting her to get in trouble, came to her rescue.

"Oh, uh, Helga and Curly were just debating about whether or not the Romans were right to conquer other nations." she said meekly.

"Oh. That's great!" he exclaimed. However, something didn't seem right."Then why does Helga look so pale?"

"Oh, um" fumbled Phoebe as she tried to think of something. "She just has a slight headache. Nothing big."

Mr. Simmons still looked suspicious but then he nodded and said, "Alright then. Everyone please settle down. It was a shame that I could not have been here to learn from your special debate but that's alright. Now please turn to page sixty-one."

Phoebe let out her breath in relief. Helga weakly smiled at her in thanks and sat down. Curly left and went to his seat, but not before casting a wink towards Helga, which caused another round of giggles from the classmates who witnessed it. Helga shuddered and rubbed the temples of her forehead, trying to lessen the major headache that was beginning to form.

In the back of the classroam, five boys smirked and gave each other the thumbs up. This was turning out to be working quite nicely. But it wasn't over yet. Each boy slipped a hand in their desks and retrieved a plastic straw. Harold nodded slightly at Arnold who nodded back.

It was his cue.

In the front, as Helga turned to page sixty-one of her textbook, she felt something pelt her on the head.

Looking down at her feet, she noticed that it was a spitwad. Disbelief crossed her features and she looked around the classroam to see who did the deed. Her eyes settled on Arnold who seemed absorbed in his textbook. Feeling her intent gaze on him, he looked up and frowned.

"What?" he whispered while scowling down at her.

Helga could not believe it. He, _Arnold_, the nicest, sweetest kid, whom she has loved since the age of three, had just pulled a Helga on _her_.

This was just too much to handle so Helga turned around without responding and tried to forget everything that happened. Unfortunately, destiny had other plans.

As soon as Helga had turned her back, she was hit with five spitwads coming from five different directions.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Author's Note: Well, that's about it. Poor Helga. This is breaking her so much but the next one (which will be the last prank) will totally break her down. I feel bad about doing this to Helga, but boys being boys, will resort to cruel pranks. I should know, considering I live with two brothers (who I firmly believe were adopted) and they are always at a constant war against me. My mom just wants to chuck us all out and live in peace. Can't blame her. Anyhoo, enough of my babbling. Please review to tell or yell whether this chapter met up to your expectations. Lastly, suggestions of what the last prank should be will be appreciated. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6: Phase Three Partly

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter Six: Phase Three (Partly)

Forty-six spitwads later, lunch finally arrived to the relief of Helga Pataki. As soon as the bell rang, Helga darted out of the classroam as quick as possible and made a beeline for the girls' bathroom. Locking herself in one of the stalls, Helga sat down on the toilet and sandwiched her head between the palms of her hands.

The last two periods had been torturous, to say the least. Helga was repeatedly hit with spitwads coming from five different directions. But what was worse was that the spitwads were extra sticky and hard. Many were targeted on her exposed neck and her pigtails. She had had to wipe off the disgusting saliva on her neck with ripped-out notebook paper. This action had elicited low snickers from her predators.

Speaking of which, Helga was still in denial that Arnold would ever commit such an act. She just couldn't believe it. Yet, Arnold showed every sign of being one of the people who threw spitwads at her.

Helga shut her eyes and sighed. It was noon and already she was fatigued to the point that she just wanted to crawl in her warm bed and drift off into a dreamless sleep, away from the prying eyes and jeering smirks of the world. Alas, such was not the case.

"Helga?" asked a distant, quiet, timid voice.

It was Phoebe. Calm, sweet Phoebe. She was the only one who hadn't laughed at Helga's misery for which she was grateful of. Helga unlatched the bathroom stall and stepped out to see a very concerned looking Phoebe.

"What is it, Pheebs?" she asked.

"Nothing Helga." she replied softly. "I just came to check on you. You left rather quickly and I wanted to see if you were alright."

"Yeah, I'm okay," lied Helga.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, crimeny!" Phoebe recoiled at Helga's harsh tone. "I said I'm alright! Now let's just go."

"Coming." said Phoebe softly.

She was about to follow Helga out of the bathroom when Helga abruptly paused, standing in the doorway, with the door halfway open. Helga was staring out into the hallway with a grim expression on her face. Then, turning slightly towards Phoebe, but not actually looking at her, Helga spoke.

"Phoebe . . . I . . . um, well I . . . wanted to say, . . .," she trailed off.

"Yes?" asked Phoebe with a reassuring smile hoping to help Helga with what she wanted to say. Helga looked up at her.

"Thanks."

With that, Helga quickly walked out without another word and didn't even look back at the startled Phoebe. Slowly, yet surely, a small smile crept across Phoebe's face. What Helga had just said, spoke volumes for her. Helga had just thanked Phoebe for being concerned for her. It was a very rare event and it filled Phoebe with a warm feeling on the inside. In a few words, Helga had showed her that she also cared for her and that she was also sorry for her harsh tone when Phoebe asked about her well-being.

With a happy heart, Phoebe ran out of the bathroom and after her best friend.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Arnold was sitting down waiting for Gerald to purchase his lunch when he saw Helga enter the cafeteria with an elated-looking Phoebe in tow. Her scowl and angry gaze settled on her features as she marched towards her lunch table where she usually sat. He watched Helga say something to Phoebe who nodded and got up from her table and headed towards the long line where the lunch ladies were dishing out cafeteria food.

At that moment, he was joined by Gerald and the rest of the gang.

"Hey Arnold, could you scoot over a bit?" asked Gerald as he set his tray on the table.

"Yeah, sure." said Arnold as he moved over a few inches and Gerald sat down. The boys sat in silence, eating their lunch. After a few minutes, Sid spoke.

"So . . . you guys ready?" asked Sid with a knowing look.

The four boys nodded and exchanged mischievious looks.

"Well then. What are we waiting for? Let's get the party started."

That said, Sid pulled out a brown paper bag and handed it to Arnold. He and Arnold just sat there while Harold, Stinky, and Gerald got up and walked in the general direction of the trashcan which was conveniently placed near Helga. There, the trio began to have a heated debate in purposefully loud voices which caught the attention of the whole cafeteria, including Helga's.

"I'm telling you that Playstation2 is the best game ever!" shouted Harold.

"No, it's not!" cried Gerald. "_King Rules_ was the best one ever. It totally rocked."

"Ya guys arr stupid!" spoke Stinky through his nasally voice. "Gameboy is cool!"

By this time they were very close to Helga. Their 'argument' continued on for another minute when Harold decided to play his so-called trump card.

"You both are babies! Playing with oldie games like wittle babies" he said mockingly.

"Oh, you would know!" retorted Gerald. "Since you are one yourself!"

"I AM NOT A BABY!"

Harold was red in the face and he looked like he was going to explode. Raising his right arm, he lifted his lunch tray and threw it straight towards Gerald. Though not before giving him a subtle wink. Gerald, catching this, smoothly moved to the left.

The lunch tray went flying . . . flying . . . flying . . . until . . .SPLAT!

It landed on Helga.

"PINK BOY!"

Helga, dripping in tapioca pudding, mystery meat, and boiled spinach, was _extremely_ furious. She charged at Harold who was trying to run away, but was finding it hard to do so because of the giggles that were overcoming him. As she ran towards him, she didn't notice Stinky stick his large feet out. As one might have expected, she tripped and landed headfirst on the tiled floor. By now the whole cafeteria was watching and laughing.

Helga growled and quickly sprung to her feet. Everyone looked on in amusement as she ran after the three boys, her fists clenched so hard.

"GET BACK HERE, GEEK-BAITS!" she growled menacingly.

Harold, Stinky, and Gerald were running at light-speed, gasping and panting along the way. They then made a sharp turn towards Arnold who was standing calmly. This was his cue. As Helga advanced towards Arnold in her hot pursuit to beat the living daylights of the trio, he pulled something out of the brown paper bag he was holding.

Helga was just fifteen feet away. Her pigtails were bouncing furiously around her beet-red face and her eyes were set in determination. Arnold held on tightly to the thing in his hand and stood in a ready-position. Everyone was making a path for her, not wanting to partake in this. Phoebe stood rigid at the sides, concern and worry sketched over her face. Arnold took all of this in before settling his eyes back on the blue-eyed menace.

She was coming closer . . .

. . .and closer . . .

. . .and closer . . .

and . . .

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Author's Note: Hehe, a cliffhanger. But don't worry, I'll update quickly. Speaking of which, I am extremely sorry for the hiatus. I was very busy with school starting and plus, I, for once in my life, received a dose of my own infamous writer's block. This chapter was kind of hard to write. I had to start all over from scratch several times (thirty-three times to be exact). At one point, I felt that my story was becoming extremely stupid and I thought of ditching it (yeah, I know, very bad thoughts). But I didn't want to waste five good chapters, so I continued. I apologize if this chapter did not meet up to your standards; I promise to do extremely well on the future chapters. I intend to finish this story by New Years. Oh, and before I go, I'd like to say thank you to all who reviewed this story and to those who have added me onto the their favorite stories' list. That was one of the things that made me continue this story and not lose hope. Thank you all. Ciao.


	7. Chapter 7: Of Tears And Heartbreak

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter Seven: Of Tears And Heartbreak

Helga buried her face in her pillow. Her head was pounding wildly as if she had to listen to music at its maximum volume for at least seven hours straight. However, it was nothing compared to the tsunami of tears she poured out onto her pillow, which was thoroughly soaked. Helga shifted slightly on the bed. Finding no comfort in her wet pillow, she flung it to one side of the room and pulled a dry one underneath her head.

Finally, some comfort in this comfortless world. Breathing slightly heavily, Helga turned so that she was lying on her back, her face to the ceiling. It was a position she always adopted whenever she was about to delve into deep thought. And boy, did she have a lot of thinking to do.

Today had been the most _horrible_ day ever recorded in the life of Helga Pataki.

Helga could not remember when she felt so miserable and hurt as she was today. And all because of the one boy she secretly adored. Tears welled up in her already-puffed up eyes as the memory returned, a memory that was sure to haunt her being for, probably, forever.

**-Flashback-**

Helga sat down at her usual spot at the lunch table, where she rested her aching head onto the cool table. Phoebe hovered around her, waiting for her best friend to say something. Helga smiled inwardly; Phoebe was too kind and caring.

Pulling her head off from the table, Helga asked, "Could you grab me some tapioca pudding? Miriam forgot to make lunch," she said as she rolled her eyes, "and I'm not really hungry, so tapioca will do."

Phoebe nodded and walked calmly to the long lunch line, some dollar bills held securely in her hand. Helga returned back to her position, though not before glancing at a footballed-shaped head, who was currently eating at his table where he was joined by the male group of the gang. Helga eyed him carefully, hoping to find any sign that would dissipate the thought of him being one of the spitwad throwers. Seeing nothing, Helga resumed her position.

The smooth, cool table was relaxing and soothing. Helga felt like she could stay in that spot forever, reveling in the coolness against her hot forehead. Her mind was beginning to go into a daydream, when suddenly, there were loud angry voices near her. Irritated that she was interrupted in a peaceful moment, Helga whipped her head up to see Harold, Gerald, and Stinky arguing loudly right next to her as they were about to throw their empty lunch trays (except Harold's which was kind of surprising and unusual) in the trash bin.

"I'm telling you that Playstation2 is the best game ever!" shouted Harold.

"No, it's not!" cried Gerald. "King Rules was the best one ever. It totally rocked."

"Ya guys arr stupid!" spoke Stinky through his nasally voice. "Gameboy is cool!"

By now, Helga felt that she should put her two cents in and shut those guys up. It was irritating her to no end. But before she could do so, Harold taunted the other two.

"You both are babies! Playing with oldie games like wittle babies" he said mockingly.

"Oh, you would know!" retorted Gerald. "Since you are one yourself!"

"I AM NOT A BABY!"

Helga snickered. Harold was red in the face and he looked like he was going to explode. Raising his right arm, he lifted his lunch tray and threw it straight towards Gerald. Gerald swerved to his left at the last minute and the lunch tray soared high in the air. Everything suddenly became slow motion. All Helga could see was the tray filled with all sorts of substances that made her blanch, coming slowly towards her. Before she had any time to react, the lunch tray fell on top of her head.

"PINK BOY!"

Helga was furious! She was covered in tapioca pudding, mystery meat, and boiled spinach. That was enough to get her to the boiling point. Growling, and in blind rage, Helga jumped out of her seat and was about to kill Harold when large feet popped out of nowhere and tripped her. Landing headfirst onto the tiled floor, Helga felt one of her elbows make a small popping noise that was barely audible but extremely painful. Wincing, she pulled to her feet, and ignoring the pain, she began to chase after the three boys who were going to so dearly pay for their lives.

"GET BACK HERE, GEEK-BAITS!"

Helga was running at full speed, her mind centered on the three soon-to-be-dead boys. Oh, yes. She could just see it now; them begging for mercy as she slowly but painfully beat the living daylights out of the trio. It was a thought that filled Helga with delight.

Suddenly, Harold, Gerald, and Stinky made a sharp turn; they were running towards the center of the cafeteria. But this didn't register into Helga's mind as she was chasing after them, hot on their heels. Vaguely, she saw an oblong-shaped head come into her view but didn't pay any attention to it.

Helga was nearing closer . . .and closer . . . and . . .

Shplat!

"What the . . . ?" asked an extremely confused Helga.

Something had been abruptly thrown her way, stopping her dead in her tracks. Helga felt something furry in her hands. Looking down, her eyes met a certain sight she never ever wanted to encounter ever again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

There, in the center of the cafeteria, amidst the hysterical laughter of everyone, stood Helga clutching a big, fat, grey rat.

Helga was in pure shock. Her face was drained of color and her hands were shaking as if they had a neurotic condition. Helga was so paralyzed that she was unable to pry the hideous rat from her fingers. The rat's dead glassy eyes stared up at her and its mouth was curved into a smirk as if it were silently laughing at her, enjoying the terror it unleashed upon her.

Helga could not register anything. Her mind was in a wild haze; she couldn't see anything but the foul rodent upon her hands. She just stood there, oblivious to everything surrounding her.

Phoebe, who was watching from one side of the cafeteria, was shocked, concerned, worried, and above all, disgusted. Disgusted that the boy whom Helga had secretly loved from afar had brought one of Helga's nightmares to life. For the first time ever, irrational rage coursed through this young petite girl who was always calm and rational.

Eyes blazing with fire, Phoebe Heyerdahl strode from her place to the middle of the cafeteria, next to her best friend. With a look that could kill everyone, she eyed each and every student in the cafeteria with pure disgust. Everyone was shocked to silence as they watched this small little girl give them a killer look. No one expected this, that's for sure.

Phoebe then looked at her inert friend, compassion filling her eyes. Quickly swiping the rodent from Helga's pale hands, she flung it to the side, her mind vaguely informing her of rabies and unsanitation from this act. Tears beginning to form, Phoebe pulled her trembling friend into an embrace, hoping to comfort her.

This small act of comfort broke Helga out of her haze slightly. Her arms hanging stiffly by her sides, Helga slowly sunk to the floor, until she was in a kneeling position. Phoebe followed suit and the two girls sat there, one comforting the other.

"Helga?" whipered Phoebe.

No reply.

"Helga, it's alright now." spoke Phoebe softly and gently. "It's gone. I threw it far away. Everything's okay now."

Helga still didn't reply. She was still registering things and her mind was slowly thawing out of its frozen reverie. A trail of tears began to leak out of Phoebe's eyes.

"Helga? Helga, please say something."

For a flicker of a moment, Helga blinked once. Her mind was slowly starting to clear. And it was beginning to focus in on an object. A single object.

Arnold.

The boy whom she loved since the tender age of three. The boy whom she relentlessly teased and tormented. The boy who had, for reasons unapparent to Helga, targeted her with spitwads. And now, the boy who had just thrown a dead rodent at her.

Helga was beginning to see red again. And she would not let her reputation fall because of what her beloved had done to her. She was going to come out of this war victorious whether he or she liked it or not.

Prying Phoebe's fingers loose from her, Helga shakily stood up while staring down at Arnold. Her previously-ashened face was now coursing with blood and contorted into a look of fury. Her eyes bore a hole through him making him suddenly feel very vulnerable.

"_You!_" she hissed while pointing her index finger at him in a warning. "How _dare_ you do this to me!"

All eyes fell on the footballheaded boy and the towering blond girl. Absolute silence reigned in the cafeteria as everyone stood with bated breaths, awaiting the little boy's response. Arnold stood a little straighter. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he spoke.

"So?" he asked in a deadpanned manner. "So what if I did?"

Collective gasps escaped the mouths of every student. Hell, even Helga was shocked! Never in a million years, had she expected this response. For the first time, Helga was tongue-tied. She couldn't retort back. What could she say? Everyone was watching her expectingly; they were waiting for her comeback.

" _'So?'_ " mimicked Helga."What do you mean _'So?'_ Look, you better be sorry you stupid footballheaded freak for all that you did. Or else you'll be wearing my knuckleprints all over your face!"

Was it Helga's imagination or was Arnold showing no hint of fear?

"No Helga!" he retorted. "Not anymore. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I am sick and tired of cowering beneath you everyday because of your petty threats. You always say you'll pound me, but do you ever? No!"

Helga growled, "Maybe because I don't wanna spend my life in detention because of freaks like you! Ever thought of that, Arnoldo!"

"Whatever the case may be, Helga, you still won't ever 'pound the living daylights out' of anyone. But you know what, I really don't care!"

Helga clenched and gritted her teeth, "Shut up! Shut up, footballhead!"

"No, Helga! Not anymore! This time, I will say whatever I want to say! And nothing you can do will stop me!"

Arnold paused. He stood their for a moment, looking at Helga, as if he were studying her. Helga stared back at him, unnerved.

"You wanna know something, Helga?" he said after a moment. "You are despicable! I can't believe you. Even after all you've been through today, you're still as heartless as you were before. You haven't even realized that maybe your victims have suffered like you have today on a daily basis. You have no feelings whatsoever! You...you are so cruel and vicious! You don't care for anybody at all except for yourself! You are nothing but a big bully!"

"Each and every day I have to endure your petty insults, your spitwads, and your pranks...you call me footballhead, paste-for-brains, geek-bait, and hair-boy every single day and I HATE THAT! You keep throwing a million and one spitwads at my back! Do you even realize how disgusting that is! But nooo! Being you, you're just gonna keep throwing them without a care! Well, I hope you realize how it feels like to be hit with so many spitwads in a day!"

"And then there are your stupid pranks! You always have a sick pleasure watching each and every one of us wiping tapioca or paint from our faces. You . . .you disgust me!"

Helga narrowed her eyes, "So? So what, footballhead? That's how I am! News flash for you: I AM A BULLY! What'd you expect from me? You think I'm gonna worship the ground you walk on? Pfft! Think again, dork."

"That's it!" shouted Arnold. "You still don't get it! But now I understand! Now I know. Of course, Helga, you are a bully. It's no wonder no one likes you at all. How can anyone like someone as cruel as you are? That's why everyone HATES you! Everyone loathes the very sight of you! I used to think you had some good in you before. But now I know the truth."

Helga snarled, "You don't know the first thing about me, you stupid freak! So you can keep these so-called truths to your freakin' self! Dumb idiot thinks he knows me! What a bunch of phooey!"

Arnold's face grew bright red, "I do know the truth, Pataki! And that is that there is no good in you! You are a despicable person whom at sight, everyone flees from. It's why no one is truly your friend. Even Phoebe! She just pretends to be your best friend. You wanna know why?"

"Shut up!" shouted Helga, her ire shooting through the roof. "She _is_ my best friend!"

"Well, then the joke's on you, Helga! She only pretends to be your friend because she's _afraid_ of you! You always boss her around, shout at her, and just push her around like she's some toy that once you've used, you throw it to the side, because it's useless. Come on, Helga. Don't deny the truth. You do yell at her don't you? You do make her do things for you, don't you?"

Helga was silent.

"See?" spat Arnold cruelly. "Even you can't deny this. But that's not all. I used to think that you had a deep different personality that I knew I'd like and be friends with. But there is no other personality to you! It's no wonder I hate you!"

Helga gasped. He . . ._hated_ her?

Suddenly, Helga felt as if everything was dying inside of her. Somewhere, she heard the million pieces of her heart shattering as the voice of her love proclaiming his hatred towards her rang in her ears.

He rejected her.

He rejected her despite all those hours in the morning and night she spent pouring her heart out to the shrine in the image of him. He rejected her despite all those times she threw spitwads at him just so he could turn around and she could see his angelic face. He rejected her despite all those times when she cheered him up whenever some crush of his rejected him because she could never see him so downcast.

Helga felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes but she dare not let any fall for fear of being called a crybaby.

After all, Patakis do _not_ cry.

Arnold spoke again, his voice pulling Helga out of her thoughts and heartbreak. "What's the matter Helga? Why do you look so surprised? You always said you hated me. So it shouldn't be any surprise that I hate you too. Nor should it surprise you that your parents do so as well."

Helga was _shocked_.

"I mean, you're so heartless and selfish that your parents would hate you too! With a bratty kid like you, I'm surprised that they haven't even thrown you out a long time ago! Hell, I would've done that as soon as the opportunity came up! That's why they 'forget' to pack you lunch. Nobody wants you, Helga! It'd be best if you didn't even exist at all!"

Silence. Complete silence.

Time suddenly halted. Everything disappeared in Helga's and Arnold's minds as they stood their staring at each other. It was just the two of them. The storm that had been brewing for some time was now out. And the victim was blown beyond belief. Her heart was mangled and trampled upon; beaten and bruised.

Her eyes, which was always filled with some sort of passion, were now lifeless. Tears that threatened to spill stood there, not even being shed once. They were only going to appear once in the sanctuary of its owner's room.

Helga was hurt.

It was as simple as that. She didn't care what the world thought of her; they could hate her for all she cared. But the one boy whom she loved hated her. And he spoke and confirmed one of her fears; a fear that she always doubted, or at least tried to. He said that her parents didn't love her; they didn't want her. It was that one thing she always tried not to believe yet it was confirmed.

No one loved her.

No one.

Uncontrollable rage filled her whole being. How dare they! Was she that meaningless! Of course, she was! Everything told her so. Everyone cowered in fear of her. Phoebe was also afraid of her. She didn't have any true friend. Her parents always loved and adored and remembered Olga. They never made lunch for her! And this boy who stood in front of her didn't like her at all either.

He hated her!

Helga closed her eyes. The truth hurt so much. She just wanted to fall into a bottomless pit, away from everyone. How she longed this to be just a nightmare.

"What's the matter, Helga?" taunted someone. It was Arnold. "Can't handle the truth?"

That did it!

Flashing her eyes open, Helga stared murderously at him. He was no longer the little boy who gave her his umbrella in preschool. No, he was a monster who was out to hurt her today. And she was not going to appear weak. She was not going to let him throw her reputation away and knock down all those barriers she had built. And she was most definitely not going to break down in front of him.

Quick as a flash, Helga raised her hand and striked him across his cheek with all the strength she could muster. Then, without any hesitation, she turned on her heels and ran.

She ran out of the cafeteria, past the classroams, and out the front doors of the school which became hell. Helga ran past everything, blinded by tears and heartbreak.

Never once did she look back.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Author's Note: Whew! This was the longest chapter I've written so far. And in one day! So, did you like this chapter? I know the previous chapter wasn't all that great because I had writer's block, so I couldn't think of how to write it. Originally, the flashback was really supposed to be the continuation of the last chapter but I couldn't do it; it didn't come out right. Therefore, I decided to move forward a few hours and then write a flashback. The result was this chapter.

I also want to apologize for something. In this chapter, I really wanted to bring out the characters' emotions so that you, the esteemed reader, will also _feel_ what the characters are feeling. However, I'm sorry that I'm not really eloquent with words. This chapter was intended for everyone to feel Arnold's frustration that had been building up for six years and the extreme hurt that Helga was experiencing. I mean, that was really cruel what Arnold said. Yeah, I know I made Arnold say all that but it was necessary for the plot; plus, I needed some originality. Can you believe that the cafeteria scene that I was going to create was going to be almost exactly like Darthroden's creation: The Broken Locket (it's a really good read; I loved it!)? So I had to sit and think (grumbles; curse you Darthroden for makin' me think). I really tried very hard to not accidentally make this story like other ones, so I was searching the other day looking for any other story that had a similiar plot.

Furthermore, in the last chapter as well as this chapter, I tried to show the deep friendship between Helga and Phoebe. They truly are best friends as well as good ones. I noticed that their friendship doesn't appear much in other fics where Helga and Phoebe are really close in their unique way. I've always been intrigued by their friendship: a meek girl who is friends with a bully because she knows that behind the bully's facade, their is a very sweet and caring girl. Yet, she continues to be close friends with the bully even though she is sometimes hurt by the bully. This kind of friendship is truly unique; who knows, maybe I'll write a fanfic about these two only.

Next, I want to thank two certain reviewers for suggesting what the last prank should have been. Acosto perez jose ramiro had suggested that I somehow involve a rat because Helga is phobic. And suggested that I make Arnold say that he doesn't love Helga. Thank you for your excellent suggestions, guys! You really helped me out in this chapter. I would also like to thank the other reviewers for suggesting ideas as well. However, I couldn't find ways to incorporate them in my story; I'm really sorry about that.

Before I leave, I have a few other notices:

1) To acosto perez: If you read my reply to your review for chapter six, then I want you to know that the item that Arnold was holding was surprising and at the same time not surprising because you had suggested the idea! That's what I meant when I said that. Hope it cleared up things.

2) To all reviewers: This is a job ad! To anyone who would like to be my bodyguard for free, please inform me through a review. I have a very dangerous reviewer who is out to get me because of my story (you know who you are!). Now, I love my life a lot, and I'm too young and beautiful (hehe) to die, so please, I implore all of you to protect me! This way, I can continue releasing future chapters. And to my assassinator, I beg, with all my being, for you to please spare me after you've done reading this chapter. Please!

(And now, after several moments of begging and cowering):

So, everyone please review! I would really appreciate it. Thanks and have great day! Ciao.

(I think I use the word 'please' too much. What do you think?)


	8. Chapter 8: Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter Eight: Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

The sun shone brightly through the clear, blue sky, illuminating the small, rural town of Hillwood. Tiny twittering birds are seen soaring across the sky, reveling in the gorgeous day. The very few clouds that are visible, drifted calmly and serenely, as if there was no care in the world. It was indeed a magnificient day. A day to go and hang out with best friends and eat ice cream in the park. It was a day that promised happiness and brought warmth into the hearts of many people.

Except one.

He stood all alone on the docks, the slight breeze ruffling his disarrayed blonde hair. A red, swollen cheek was clearly visible on his pallid face and his bloodshot eyes appeared to be fixed intently on a spot in the placid ocean. He just stood there, in his own little world which held nothing but him.

Him and his misery.

Arnold squeezed his eyes shut, as if he was trying to ward off some evil. In truth, he was trying to prevent the fresh batch of tears that were threatening to spill; tears that had been continually falling since he left the school that held horrorific memories. Intense emotional pain consumed his whole being; his heart torturing him with immense guilt and sorrow. And why shouldn't it? He had hurt someone and with the intention of doing so. For once, Arnold, the calm, caring, quiet boy, had lost control of all his emotions and unleashed pure rage and malice on a girl who had never hurt him in all the six years they've known each other as much as he had to her.

It was true! Helga had always just teased him by calling him all sorts of names (footballhead being his least favorite one) and throwing spitwads (to which he had actually gotten used to). Sure, she also pulled pranks on him, like the fart gag on April Fools Day or the paint she had thrown on him that one day, but they were just small, juvenile acts that were kind of immature but also funny once the victim's gotten over it.

And what did he do in retaliation? He allowed several boys to dump animal waste on her, which not to mention was absolutely disgusting! He ganged up with the same boys and tormented her with tons of spitwad. And he caused the greatest fear of Helga to be presented to her in a sickeningly rude manner.

But did he stop there? Nooo. He went to go as far as to shred her heart into millions of tiny pieces! And how? He told her that nobody liked nor loved nor cared for her at all! That just went off the deep end.

Arnold sighed and sat down. He pulled his knees towards him and gently laid his head down, being extra careful with his cheek; Helga's tremendous slap was still stinging his cheek. He just sat there, on the docks, in that position for the longest time, trying to clear his chaotic mind and the jumbled emotions that were overwhelming him.

Arnold suddenly felt so alone. He was usually surrounded by people, mostly by Gerald and his grandparents and the boarders. But today, there was no one with him and the loneliness was tearing him up. However, he couldn't blame anyone for this. Everyone had pretty much stayed away from him after the cafeteria fiasco; no one knew what to do with him. After all, they had never expected him to act like he had today and be so cruel. It just wasn't in his nature.

"So what was wrong with me?" he cried out in anguish to the mockingly bright sky.

"I was wondering the same thing too." replied an unexpected, cold voice from behind.

Arnold whipped around and came face to face with the person he least expected to see here. Standing with her arms crossed across her blue shirt, the very first defiant act from her, was none other than Phoebe Heyerdahl, an uncanny look of hate printed across her face.

"Phoebe? What are you doing here?" asked a confused Arnold.

"What do you think, footballhead?" she spat, a look of disgust, crossing her features.

Whoa! Did he just hear her call him footballhead! Arnold just stood there, his mouth slightly gaping open, wondering if he was dreaming or not.

"What's the matter?" continued Phoebe, her voice holding an edge to it. "Cat finally got your tongue? Or do you still need to release your so-called justified anger?"

"I -- "

"Shut up!" said Phoebe in a dangerously low voice. Her eyes narrowed until they were mere slits. "Don't you even say a single word! You have absolutely no right to say anything! Especially not after what you've done to _my_ best friend! How dare you tell her that I'm not her friend! That I'm _scared_ of her, huh! How the hell would you know! You don't know _anything_ about us! You don't know that we care for each other so much so that we could practically be sisters! You don't know that deep down, behind the facade you see her in, Helga is a true friend who had always helped me when I needed her! She protected, cared, and looked out for me! And you had the audicity to tell her that she has no true friend! You disgust me! I can't believe you did that! But you know what, I'm glad that you did it! It at least revealed your true colors! It showed everyone what a cruel, heartless, uncaring person you are hiding behind this disgustingly sweet facade! And it would at least save someone from a lot of heartache! It would at least show Helga, the girl who cared for you, that you are not worthy of her affections at all!"

Arnold was shocked. Helga . . . _cared_ for him!

"What's the matter, footballhead?" Arnold flinched at the nickname. "Why do you look so surprised? You truly thought Helga hated you? Well, think again hair boy. She had never hated you! It was all just a facade! It was nothing but a mask that she put on for the world to see! Helga never hated anyone. On the contrary, she cared for most people. She just didn't show it! And you wanna know something else? She LOVED you! Helga loved you with all her being! She cared, adored, and admired you from afar! You meant the world to her!"

Silence. Absolute complete silence.

Arnold was shocked beyond belief. Nothing could ever compare to the numbness he felt as he let the words of this angry girl wash over him and try to absorb into his brain. Helga _loved_ him? Arnold suddenly felt so weak and dizzy as he thought about it. How could Helga Pataki, the girl who had tormented him for as long as he could remember, love him! It was impossible! It couldn't be true! She was a bully, for crying out loud! Yet, something nagged at him, deep down in the depths of his heart, that it was possibly true. It was possible that Helga could have . . . loved him. Yet . . .

"That's not true!" cried Arnold. "Helga _hates_ me! She always said so!"

"So!" yelled Phoebe angrily. "So what if she did say that! Helga can say many things! But that doesn't mean it's true! She can tell you that you don't have a football-shaped head and you'll believe her? Well, let me tell you something, Romeo. Helga. Loves. You. It's as simple as that! When she said she hated you, she meant the complete opposite! When she threw spitwads at you, it wasn't to annoy the heck out of you! On the contrary, she just wanted to have your attention, even if it meant to see you glaring at her! And what about the Romeo and Juliet play? Helga didn't just accidentally get the role of Juliet and neither was that prolonged kiss just a mistake! You were always oblivious to Helga's feelings! You never knew how Helga truly felt whenever she was near you! Helga had done so many things to make you happy, unbeknownst to you, because your happiness meant a lot to her!"

"No, no, NO!" cried Arnold in absolute denial. "That is NOT true!"

"YES IT IS!" screamed Phoebe. "Why can't you get it through that thick, dense footballhead of yours! Helga never hated you! She only hates you now!"

_She only hates you now._

Arnold was quiet. That last declaration spoken by Phoebe struck a chord in him. And he finally realized the truth. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, Arnold realized that Phoebe was telling the truth.

Helga had always been angry-looking, in all the six years he had known her. Her face always held the usual scowl and dark expression. And she always claimed to hate him.

But it dawned on him that she had never hated him.

Never.

No matter how many times she had said it.

Because in that one moment before her hand contacted with his cheek and she fled the cafeteria, her eyes held extreme, undeniable hate.

Hate that was pure and strong. Her other so-called hate looks were nothing compared to this.

"She never did hate me." whispered Arnold to himself as he looked down at the blurry ground, tears welling up in his eyes. "Until now." As Arnold said that to himself, he felt something pierce in his heart; something he couldn't decipher. The feeling was so strong yet unidentifiable.

Arnold then suddenly felt himself going down a memory lane. His mind flashed several hidden images he had felt had no signifigance to him, yet now they meant a lot. The memory of him pretending to be Helga's boyfriend appeared in his mind. He had only wanted to make his long-time crush, Lila, jealous but that plan had backfired. He remembered now how he had brushed through Helga's hair, shared gum with her, and had been basically like a true boyfriend. And Helga hadn't minded at all. In fact, now that he thought about it, she had seemed happy and even content.

Then there was the time when she had tried to warn him of his other crush, Summer, who had been trying to deceive him. She had been so concerned for him and he hadn't even listened to her.

Arnold was at a loss. All those times, Helga had hinted of her affections towards him and he, being the dense person he was, had not even noticed. Arnold felt like banging his head on something really hard. How could he have been such a fool! And now he tore her heart in millions of pieces.

Suddenly, Arnold felt sick. Sick at himself for doing what he had done today. Sick at himself for hurting Helga. And now only one thought settled in his hazy mind.

_Who says revenge is sweet?_

It was true. Revenge was anything but sweet. The fools on television who'd say "Sweet revenge!" were complete morons. They didn't know how much it hurt the victim and the avenger. And Arnold discovered this the hard way.

"I hope you have realized the enormity of the consequences of your actions." spoke Phoebe, her quiet voice breaking him out of his reverie. Her face still held her penetrating gaze that was fixed firmly upon him and her glasses were perched precariously on her small nose. Gone was the blind rage; in its place was resignation and sadness. The small breeze the that had been floating around silently was now stronger in strength and was ruffling her raven-black hair. Phoebe silently stood there on the docks, watching him. After a moment, she turned on her heels, and left as silently as she had come.

And Arnold was once more all alone.

Alone with his jumbled thoughts and feelings.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Author's Note: Hi guys! I'm sorry that I hadn't updated quickly but, with school starting and all the homework I have to do, I just didn't have much time. I wrote this chaper rather quickly so I'm sorry if it sucked. Anyways, I'd like to thank all those who reviewed; you guys were awesome! I was really surprised that so many people liked this story. I'm sorry I was unable to reply to the reviews like I normally do; like I said, I was kinda busy. Anyhoo, gotta jet, my mom's calling.

P.S. What do you think I should do to bring Helga and Arnold back together? Remember this is a HelgaXArnold fic.


	9. Chapter 9: Nothing But Ice And Frost

Who Says Revenge Is Sweet?

A Fanfic By Dimitrius

Chapter Nine: Nothing But Ice and Frost

Arnold sullenly walked across, the smooth, concrete sidewalk, clearly dreading his destination. It was the day after the cafeteria fiasco and Arnold found himself making his way towards school early in the morning. He had decided against taking the bus for he really did not want to have to face anyone before school. He was pretty sure that he was going to have people whispering, pointing, and staring at him if he had gone on the bus. And he most definitely did not want to have to endure that early in the morning.

Arnold had even tried to avoid school altogether but he didn't have the heart to feign sickness in front of his grandfather. Therefore, he had bravely arose out of bed and left home on an empty stomach. The thought of cutting even crossed his mind, yet that small part of him that always did the right thing rather than follow his feelings, had dissolved the idea as soon as it had entered.

Meanwhile, PS 118 loomed ominously ahead, only a few streets away. The brick building came closer and closer as Arnold advanced until he was just standing right in front of it. Taking a deep breath in, Arnold pushed open the door and entered the building. As soon as he did, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of school. Arnold quickly rushed to his classroom, not wanting to have his name listed on the absentee list.

As soon as Arnold had entered the classroom, there was a hushed silence, as if everyone was talking but in his presence, they immediately became quiet. It was clear that he was the topic of their conversations. After all, what had happened yesterday was bound to cause so much excitement; it was the gossip of the year.

Arnold cautiously made his way to his seat, avoiding the stares of his classmates. A small glance to his left revealed Gerald trying to give his buddy a reassuring smile, as if to say that he would stick by him no matter what. Arnold weakly smiled back.

Mr. Simmons, who was sitting at his desk, also smiled at Arnold, completely oblivious to all that was happening. Then he brusquely stood up and began the day as he usually did by greeting his students in the most cheerful manner possible.

"Good morning, class!" he cried jubiliantly. He received several groans while a few said good morning.

"Tut, tut." scolded Mr. Simmons. "Why aren't we all energized? It is a beautiful morning, and all of you should be ready to begin the day with smiles! Not frowning and being slumped over your desks."

The class refrained from rolling their eyes at their obnoxious teacher.

"Now let's begin the day by seeing which special student is here with us."

Mr. Simmons began to call out each student's name. Arnold took this opportunity to glance around the classroom. His gaze was met by one of Phoebe's who turned away quickly, looking slightly ashamed for reasons unapparent to Arnold. Ignoring this, though he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty, Arnold continued to look about him. And when he did, he noticed something. Helga was not here!

Arnold suddenly became worried. Where was she! Was she at home? Could she possibly be someplace else? Arnold suddenly began to become paranoid as his mind began to race through multiple situations Helga could currently be in. He was being ridiculous, he knew, but he couldn't stop himself. She probably decided not to come to school like he had previously thought of doing before. Arnold didn't know why, but at that moment he began to feel something weird at that last thought.

As Arnold was deep into his thoughts about Helga, the door to the classroom opened. At the sound of the creaking door, Arnold looked up and he saw something that he would never forget.

It was Helga.

But she was no longer Helga.

Where there used to stand a scowling girl with narrowed blue eyes, a pink and white dress, and a bow sitting atop her head, was a girl with drooping pigtails, a hideous brown and green sweater, black pants, and worst of all, no pink bow. Her bare blonde head was a slight mess, as if they hadn't been combed through. Her eyes, which were always filled with some sort of emotion, were now empty and lifeless. Yet there was an unknown intensity to them and Arnold felt as if she was seeing right through him. For a brief moment, he was reminded of a dead corpse left with just a skeleton. Its sunken eyes which became sockets were so lifeless and empty yet they held something infinite within them.

Arnold shivered. He definitely did not like the change in appearance. It reminded him so much of death. Yet, Helga's change was befitting. It displayed her pain, sorrow, and grief. And it hurt Arnold so much to see this.

After all, he was the cause.

Helga slowly entered the classroom, her penetrating gaze on everyone. Everyone had a look of awe on their faces, including Mr. Simmons. Silence reigned as Helga cautiously made her way towards her seat. She didn't even glance at Arnold, who looked as if he couldn't control his jaw which was practically touching the floor. Everyone stared at her as she finally sat down. Her face was completely expressionless. Finally, after a moment, Helga spoke.

"What the hell are you freaks looking at!" she snapped.

Her voice was filled with so much venom, malice, and ice that Arnold winced. This tone was definitely nothing compared to the one she always used to use; that one had been an angry tone with a slight amusement underneath. It was a weird combination yet it was a perfect tone when she used it. This tone, however, was nothing but ice and frost.

The class recoiled at her voice and looked forward again. Mr. Simmons didn't even bother saying anything. Years of teaching this girl had taught him at least that much. Therefore, he cleared his throat, and continued taking the attendance. Arnold, however tuned him out, as his thoughts began to take over his mind again.

He couldn't believe what he had seen. Helga had totally changed in her appearance (which Arnold had to say did not suit her) and demeanor. She was usually aloof but now she was completely introverted. Arnold chanced a glance at her and now he saw her just staring at everyone and everything with the coldest look ever. Her arms were crossed, as if daring anyone to have the courage to say something to her. Then, for the first time since her arrival, her blue eyes met his and there, hidden in the depths of her eyes, sparked an unidentified emotion. Arnold couldn't tell what it was, but it disappeared as quickly as it had came. And it was replaced by hate, the same hate that Arnold had encountered in the cafeteria. This look of complete loathing brought a sudden lump to his throat and Arnold quickly turned around, his eyes beginning to well up in fresh tears.

Blinking rapidly, Arnold tried to force the tears down, hoping that none of it would leak out in clear view of everyone. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping for the umpteenth time that he was trapped in some sort of nightmare.

But Arnold knew that this was reality. A reality he had created. A reality he knew he would have to change. Determination surged through his body as Arnold opened his eyes. Yes, he was going to change this reality. He was going to bring the old Helga back come high mighty waters or the devil himself.

_Whether you will like it or not Helga, I will bring you back. You may have changed now, but I will make sure that the Helga I knew, despite the fact that she was a spitwad-throwing Helga, will return, pink bow and all. I promise you that._

_But how?_, a small voice nagged in his head. _How are you going to bring her back? You broke any thin string of communication with her. You and her never usually got along. So why would you think that she's gonna return back to her normal self when she won't even listen to you at all? After all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned._

_No!_ cried Arnold at this 'voice'_ I will bring her back. I just need something to bring her back. Something that can help me._

As if a higher being had heard all of this, Arnold's indirect wish was granted. And it was through an inncoent being.

Mr. Simmons.

Mr. Simmons by now had taken the class attendance and was beginning to list several announcements. He informed the students of a charity and that money was needed to be raised for a group of homeless children. There was also report card night which was only three months away yet he felt it was important to remind his students so they can continue working diligently or at least try to exert pressure in their studies.

Then came the final announcement that turnerd the light bulb on in Arnold's brain.

"And lastly, the final announcement of the day," said Mr. Simmons. "As I am sure you all are aware of, the special season of spring is here. And it is a tradition in PS 118 to celebrate this season. That is why we have the annual Spring Dance which is only for the fifth graders. So everyone please remember this and remember to wear something formal. That is all for today. Now, let us begin the day with some special lessons in math."

The class groaned except Arnold. The gears were already shifting in his brain as he absorbed this bit of information. For him, this was it. This was the opportunity for him to regain Helga. And he was definitely going to go for it.

_I'm coming for you Helga._

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Author's Notes: Hi guys. So sorry for the long update. I've been busy with stuff but I won't bore you with details. Instead, I want to say that I am dedicating this chapter to DayzNight (aka Tormented Urban Girl; sorry if I got your new name wrong; I'm trying to remember what it was) for sparking an idea. She had sugested that I make Helga's attitude like this (like of an Ice Queen). Thank you for your suggestion. I really appreciated it.

Next, I wanted to say that the next few chapters won't be updated quickly because it seems that I've come to a roadblock. I just can't think of any reconciliation between Helga and Arnold cuz I reread chapter seven and I was like, 'damn, how am I gonna bring those two together especially now that Helga's totally pissed at Arnold and most likely would never give Arnold a chance at forgiveness?' So, I'm at a total loss and I feel like I'm betraying you guys cuz I know you're all counting on me to release chapters that are really good and strong. So, in advance, I will apologize for the hiatus that will be coming up.

I'm really sorry about that but if you guys really want something worth reading, then I guess waiting is necessary. (I still feel bad about though, and trust me, when I say that you guys have to wait awhile, then I really mean that you have to wait a loooong while.)

Please forgive me.

Ciao.


	10. Chapter 10: What Will Tomorrow Hold?

**Chapter Ten: What Will Tomorrow Hold?**

Arnold stared at his reflection in the small window near the stoop of Helga's house. He was dressed in his usual, ordinary clothes with a few stains here and there but he wasn't worried about that. It was the fear and trepidation that was showing on his face that made him concerned about his appearance. He wanted to don the look of utmost composure before facing Helga so that she would take him seriously and not think him a spineless coward asking for forgiveness out of fear. Unfortunately, Arnold could not force his face to look less pale; therefore, he resignedly pulled himself away from the window and transplanted himself in front of Helga Pataki's door.

This was it. After Mr. Simmons' announcement earlier in the day, all Arnold could think about was this moment when he would try to privately talk to Helga. Although he had run multiple scenarios through his mind of this moment, his imagination was always left short due to Helga's unpredictability. Nonetheless, he decided that he would just wing it and face things head on because nothing at this point could stop him from the possible suicidal path that he was planning to travel on. Arnold was going to make things right between him and Helga no matter what Helga or anyone else says. It was this determination that had brought him to her doorstep and it was this determination that now made him decide not to delay the moment any longer. With two quick jabs from his fingers, Arnold rang the doorbell and waited with bated breath for the arrival of a familiar blonde.

He did not have to wait long. In a moment or two, the door wildly swung open to reveal a tall, lean girl whose jaw slacked visibly the moment her eyes settled on his face. Arnold gulped but did not falter from her gaze. Instead, he looked directly into her eyes and in a level voice that betrayed no other emotion, he said, "Helga, I want to talk to you."

The blonde said nothing. Instead, she stood there expressionless, leaning against the door frame with crossed arms and observing his face. This apparent lack of reaction towards him unnerved Arnold who had expected an immediate outburst. Yet Helga was showing no sign of saying or doing anything and so his mind fumbled around a bit as he tried to figure out how to continue with this new development. But he didn't have the time. Arnold did not want to lose his one-person audience before he could have his say; therefore, he quickly delved into a ceaseless, unrehearsed, panicked chatter instead.

Wringing his hands, Arnold blurted, "I-I'm very sorry, Helga! I'm sorry I hurt you yesterday and for pulling those pranks on you. I was just so fed up when you had taken your anger out on me and my friends and it made me frustrated that you didn't even say sorry. But you still didn't deserve it. You didn't deserve to be humiliated like that. And I was wrong to say those things about you and your parents and Phoebe. Phoebe does love you and so do your parents. I wasn't thinking right when I said it. Everything that came out of my mouth was wrong, unjustified, and uncalled for. And…..and I'm really, really sorry about that, Helga! I…..I….I just….I don't know what came over me! I didn't even think about your own feelings and hurt you so much. You really didn't deserve that. I'm sorry, Helga."

Arnold panted slightly from the flood of words that flowed from his mouth. He knew he was being repetitive but he was desperate as well. He was desperate for her to understand his regret and sincerity. Yet as Arnold looked up at Helga's uncaring and distant demeanor, all of his hopes vanished as well as anything else that he wished to say. Only silence and Helga's intense but unreadable gaze weighed heavily on him.

After a moment, Helga finally spoke.

"Are you done?" she asked coldly. Arnold flinched at the severe tone but nodded hesitantly. In truth, he had plenty more to say but he needed her to be responsive as well. Her silence had made it difficult to gauge out the level of her anger and to figure out how to talk without further aggravating it.

Helga, however, spared him of the trouble. Suddenly smiling sardonically, she uncrossed her arms and stepped back while extending her arm towards the back of the door. Arnold's brows knitted in confusion at her actions but when he saw the muscles in her arm begin to flex, he instinctively knew the course of action she was about to take and without hesitation, he extended his arm out towards the door to prevent it from slamming right in his face.

"Helga, wait!" he cried out. He could not let her shut him out like this, especially when he was prepared to fix things between them. But alas, he was too late. Her hand had been quicker than his outstretched arm and within the next second, there was the sickening crunch of several bones being crushed in the deathtrap between the door and its frame. In an instant, Arnold's eyes stretched wide open and the color drained from his face as he quickly stuffed a fist in his mouth to stifle the bloodcurdling scream that threatened to resonate across the neighborhood. Even as spasms of pain shot up across his arm and pools of tears collected in his eyes, Arnold did everything in his willpower to keep himself as quiet as possible. Luckily, he was not quiet enough to attract Helga's attention behind the closed door who had immediately wrenched it open when she heard the crunching sound followed by a low, guttural howl. She stood there shocked as Arnold pulled his bloodied hand towards himself and staggered down the stoop until he crumbled on the concrete floor sobbing convulsively. The very sight of blood flowing down his forearm made her freeze in horror.

It wasn't until Arnold weakly raised his head up a second later and implored her with pleading tearful eyes for help that she snapped out of her reverie. Without thinking, Helga took two large strides, swooped down and roughly pulled him up by the arm. Her legs shook terribly and her eyes were wildly glazed, but it did not stop her from yanking Arnold into her house and up the stairs to the second floor until they reached her bedroom where she unceremoniously dumped him on her bed. A small part of her consciousness was informing her that the blonde boy was hurt and that handling him roughly would do no good but Helga's body couldn't control her actions. She was far too deep in shock to even attempt to be gentle. All she could do was follow her instincts.

With that, Helga turned on her heels and strode out of the bedroom until she reached the bathroom. There, with fumbling fingers, she wrenched a cabinet open and pulled out every medicine, gauze wrap, and bandages that she could get her hands on. Cradling these items in her arms, she quickly walked back to her bedroom where she saw Arnold hunched over her bed with eyes showcasing pain that she couldn't even fathom. The whole scene wrenched her heart but Helga did not dare to dwell on the feeling. Instead, she wordlessly moved by his side and pulled his bloodied hand into her own whereupon she examined it.

A large portion of the skin on his hand had been scraped clean to reveal a raw, pink epidermal layer that continued to ooze large portions of blood out with no sign of stopping. Helga shuddered at the sight and uncapped a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Not caring that she was going to soil her own bed with the liquid, she poured it over his wounds and let it soak her bed sheets. Meanwhile, Arnold tightly clenched his teeth as a stinging sensation burned wildly on his hand. The pain consumed him so much so that he didn't even realize how ironic the current situation was. Instead of trying to seek forgiveness from Helga and most likely being shunned like he had expected, he was being attended to for his pain by the least likely girl on the planet. It was mindboggling and only in hindsight would Arnold marvel at the sudden change of events. But for now, he let the blond girl silently soak his hand clean and carefully wrap it in gauge and bandages as his sobs and whimpering gradually diminished.

After she was done, by which the numbing shock had worn off and her previous sense of self returned, Helga finally spoke. Raising her eyes levelly to look at him, she quietly said, "Your stupidity never fails to amaze me."

Arnold, who had been examining his newly bandaged hand, also raised his eyes up towards her. He stared at her for a moment before simply saying, "I just didn't want you to shut me out."

Helga raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And you didn't think that was justified on my part?"

Arnold grimaced but inwardly, he was elated that Helga was talking to him calmly and voluntarily. Careful to keep it that way, he said, "It was. But if I let you do that, then I'd have to wait until tomorrow to try again. And I couldn't wait that long."

At these words, Helga smirked suddenly. However, anxiety flashed through Arnold who was wary of the action, having been on the receiving end of her new bout of unpredictability lately. And he was right to feel that way when Helga mockingly said, "Is that so? Your guilty conscience couldn't hold up for another day? Oh poor you. You should have said so earlier in your tirade. I could have helped your tormenting soul a lot quicker!"

Arnold watched in amazement as Helga quickly jumped to her feet and a hateful expression settled on her features. In a business-like tone, she said, "Let me tell you a little something, Footballhead. You humiliated me and I wordlessly let you apologize to free your conscience. You hurt yourself partly because of me and I did my part in fixing it up. We're even now. We don't have physical nor emotional IOUs to each other anymore. In short, we have nothing to do with each other. So now that we're free of each other, I want you to get out of my house and out of my life for once and for all."

Arnold sat there in silence, feeling defeated. He had somehow selfishly hoped that in lieu of the recent incident with his hand and Helga's response to it that her anger would lessen to a degree where he could reasonably acquire her forgiveness. But Helga Pataki was far too wounded to even forget her pain and it made Arnold feel helpless. Nevertheless, he had come this far in (almost literally!) and he wasn't going to leave until he made sure that she was going to be on speaking terms with him for the days to come.

Arnold stood up directly in front of Helga. Looking at her with unwavering eyes, he said, "Fine. If that's how you want it to be, then so it will be."

"Then leave," responded Helga in an equally challenging tone.

Arnold smiled. "Not yet, Helga. We haven't settled the score yet. You let me apologize and you helped mend my hand….but you still have ten years of bullying to settle."

Helga's eyes flashed angrily. "What are you talking about? Wasn't humiliating me enough for your revenge?"

Arnold inwardly heaved a heavy sigh. He didn't want to be a jerk to Helga anymore but her stubbornness albeit justified was leaving him no choice but to force her into his ballpark. "No," he said, hating the words slithering painfully out of his mouth. "That was for what you did recently. But what about the ten whole years you had been hurting me constantly? Is a little hand-fixing and your promise of never talking to me again going to be enough to pay back for all that you did?"

Silence reigned in the small room as Arnold watched a medley of emotions from rage to disbelief play out on Helga's face. But it only took a moment for her to finally settle for a disgusted look before lashing out at him. "Fine! Do whatever you want! I don't care anymore! Turn me into your personal slave and make every waking moment of my life a living hell! It's all you can do these days anyway!"

Arnold winced at the hateful words but chose to ignore them and the twinge of sadness that he felt from Helga's overall current view of him. Wasting no time, he decidedly plunged straight into his somewhat original plan. "I don't want to make you into my slave, Helga," he said calmly. "I…I only want you to be my partner for the Spring dance. And if you can be the partner that I want you to be, then I promise that I will never bother you again. You and I can part ways after the dance."

Helga gaped and was about to say something but Arnold raised a hand to silence her. "Since you already agreed that you would let me do whatever I want to settle the score, you cannot object," he said with a slight hint of triumph in his voice. "And I'm only asking you for a simple thing….if you can do it properly, then by the time the dance ends, you will have made up for all those ten years."

Feeling that no more words were necessary, Arnold jostled past her until he reached the bedroom door. With one hand on the doorknob, he turned around for the last time in the evening to face Helga. Expressing all the sincerity in his heart, he smiled and simply said, "Also, thank you for fixing my hand, Helga. I will always remember it."

Arnold turned the doorknob, pulled the door open, and strode out without another word, leaving a dazed Helga in his wake. It was only after she heard the door slam and the reopen again ten minutes later to signal the arrival of her parents from their evening excursion did Helga finally slump down on her bed in wonder.

_What will tomorrow hold? _was the only question that remained in her mind for the rest of the night.

A/N: Wow. Talk about a long hiatus! Although truthfully, I had abandoned writing fanfiction and it's only by some miracle that I just recently took it up again. You guys, however, shouldn't place much hopes in me updating again. Unless my sudden burst of creativity and random craze to write, write, write without stopping on a long train ride pops up sometime soon, this story might as well be dead again. But who knows what tomorrow holds? Don't answer; it was just a rhetorical question. In any case, I was hit with the sudden desire to write so I pulled this chapter out of my head. Not really a competent writer nor having had practice during the hiatus, I expect this chapter to be one jumbled mess. In fact, I had forgotten the original storyline and ended up having to decide where to go next from scratch. Meh. Maybe it was for the best.

Anyways, there was a lot of tugging and pulling going on in here with two stubborn personas constantly butting heads with each other. And what's with Arnold being so forceful in having things go his way? Well, I figured that he was desperate to make things right as soon as possible. And whenever Arnold is dead set on getting his way, he can pull some tricks here and there. (April Fools dance, anyone?). So I hoped that part of him wasn't too OOC. As for Helga, well, she's a tough cookie. I don't see her forgiving Arnold any time soon no matter what happens (ie, Arnold's crushed hand). So the final question remains. What will tomorrow hold….for Arnold and the future of this story? Even I don't know.


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